January Hopefuls...What's next for us???

[haleiwamama]

Beaglemom, I totally understand. I wish we could know right away. Last week I had so many symptoms, AF arrives and leaves me wondering what just happened. I feel like I wish away so much time because I just want it to be time to test.

Jayhawk, you can never be too careful. Unless you catch me the first day or two of AF, there is no way I am taking a chance! Is this your first time following SMEP?

Yeah, it made me a little nervous but they took extra precautions. Yes, this is my first time, I actually hadn't heard of it until a couple days ago lol. Having a plan always makes me feel better!!!

My hubby also made me smile yesterday, he has a couple days off so sometimes when he gets bored he has "alone time", if you know what I mean. (TMI alert!!) But I asked him about it, and he said he wasn't going to so that he could keep everything "fresh" Sometimes it feels like I put in so much effort, so it's nice to know it's a priority for him too!!

For sure... for a while DH and I were not on the same page... after he had his SA done and the numbers came back low he kept saying that it would just work itself out and that the numbers were low because he was hungover that day... me on the other hand, with 10 failed cycles I was totally obsessing about getting pregnant.. so there was a big disconnect..

But then when I talked to him and told him how it was making me feel he understood and jumped on board 100%. He stopped drinking coffee and alcohol and won't have "alone time" during my ovulation week and is taking all supplements I got for him... This made me feel so much better, like we're in this together and we're both trying our best...

At every failed cycle I end up finding something to blame it on.. "would it have worked if I had done that?".. so I don't take any risks anymore, I do all I can and he does too. Huge difference in our relationship too because there's no room for blaming..

 

[beaglemom]

Beaglemom, I totally understand. I wish we could know right away. Last week I had so many symptoms, AF arrives and leaves me wondering what just happened. I feel like I wish away so much time because I just want it to be time to test.

Jayhawk, you can never be too careful. Unless you catch me the first day or two of AF, there is no way I am taking a chance! Is this your first time following SMEP?

Yeah, it made me a little nervous but they took extra precautions. Yes, this is my first time, I actually hadn't heard of it until a couple days ago lol. Having a plan always makes me feel better!!!

My hubby also made me smile yesterday, he has a couple days off so sometimes when he gets bored he has "alone time", if you know what I mean. (TMI alert!!) But I asked him about it, and he said he wasn't going to so that he could keep everything "fresh" Sometimes it feels like I put in so much effort, so it's nice to know it's a priority for him too!!

My husband is def on schedule with me as well. And when we were doing the SA, as soon as AF showed, I said clear yourself out so we can start fresh for your test. And if right before my week we have not been together I say the same thing.

Ladies (sarah and beaglemom), you are giving up too soon! I know WAY too many girls who had to miss AF before getting a pos HPT! I always had a feeling I'd be one of those girls that doesn't get those nice early BFPs, and I was right (at least this time). I didnt get my positive until 14-15dpo. So don't give up hope yet!

As for me, my temps are NOT my post-O temps, so I'm thinking even though I got the LH surge on the OPK, that I may not have managed to spit an egg out. I got the temp jump yesterday, but only because it had dropped so much the day before. I expected it to continue rising today, but it dropped a little. So I believe this may end up being my first ever anovulatory cycle for me! Could be because of the recent m/c. I am feeling super crampy right now though, so who knows....maybe by some fluke, I am O'ing much later than normal after a pos OPK. I guess I'll know tomorrow, IF my temp finally jumps.

I def remember that. You said you were out & then the next day BOOM! I am not giving up yet...but I didn't have high hopes to begin with. I am just getting so restless & hate thinking everything is a symptom. I also had a dull headache first thing this morning. I never have that. Maybe a headache as a rough day goes by.

Maybe your temps & all are off bc of mc. Your opks could be false pos too. I know that can happen with clomid & for women with PCOS...so I am not really sure what affects it.

Beaglemom, I totally understand. I wish we could know right away. Last week I had so many symptoms, AF arrives and leaves me wondering what just happened. I feel like I wish away so much time because I just want it to be time to test.

Jayhawk, you can never be too careful. Unless you catch me the first day or two of AF, there is no way I am taking a chance! Is this your first time following SMEP?

Yeah, it made me a little nervous but they took extra precautions. Yes, this is my first time, I actually hadn't heard of it until a couple days ago lol. Having a plan always makes me feel better!!!

My hubby also made me smile yesterday, he has a couple days off so sometimes when he gets bored he has "alone time", if you know what I mean. (TMI alert!!) But I asked him about it, and he said he wasn't going to so that he could keep everything "fresh" Sometimes it feels like I put in so much effort, so it's nice to know it's a priority for him too!!

For sure... for a while DH and I were not on the same page... after he had his SA done and the numbers came back low he kept saying that it would just work itself out and that the numbers were low because he was hungover that day... me on the other hand, with 10 failed cycles I was totally obsessing about getting pregnant.. so there was a big disconnect..

But then when I talked to him and told him how it was making me feel he understood and jumped on board 100%. He stopped drinking coffee and alcohol and won't have "alone time" during my ovulation week and is taking all supplements I got for him... This made me feel so much better, like we're in this together and we're both trying our best...

At every failed cycle I end up finding something to blame it on.. "would it have worked if I had done that?".. so I don't take any risks anymore, I do all I can and he does too. Huge difference in our relationship too because there's no room for blaming..

I learned long ago the blame game was a bad idea. It is actually the main reason I never went through any fertility tests back in the way beginning. But now I think we are more in sync just from being together so long. And even now after it seems the sperm count is the only issue, I never find myself upset with him about it...I never find any blame with him. Unless he slacks off on eating the special foods & taking supplements. I just see my marriage as way more important than a baby. So even if it never happened, I'm ok with that...as long as I put in just as much effort as I was comfortable with.

 

[haleiwamama]

I learned long ago the blame game was a bad idea. It is actually the main reason I never went through any fertility tests back in the way beginning. But now I think we are more in sync just from being together so long. And even now after it seems the sperm count is the only issue, I never find myself upset with him about it...I never find any blame with him. Unless he slacks off on eating the special foods & taking supplements. I just see my marriage as way more important than a baby. So even if it never happened, I'm ok with that...as long as I put in just as much effort as I was comfortable with.

Absolutely! Blame game sucks... I don't feel mad at him because of the sperm issue at all... actually I had to help him work it out because he was in denial that he even had a problem.. so he wasn't trying really.. he wasn't taking the supplements, was having "alone time" as he wanted (which I don't mind at all... but since we're trying he shouldn't do that during ovulation week to up our chances).. drinking a few times per week etc

His denial just made me feel so alone on top of all the disappointment of never getting a +... but once I told him how his behavior was making me feel, it all changed.. he's been so supportive and things have been really great between us. Now it feels like we're going through this together... Its the one positive thing that has come out of this whole thing...

 

[beaglemom]

Definitely have to be on the same page. I actually think we are better off trying now rather than when we first started...we had only been married 6 months. I think now we are way more stronger so we can go at this head on.

 

[moni77]

Its not over until AF arrives ladies. Glad everyones hubbys seem to be on board. Mine has been great during this entire process - even with my crazy mood swings!

 

[ERosePW]

I def remember that. You said you were out & then the next day BOOM! I am not giving up yet...but I didn't have high hopes to begin with. I am just getting so restless & hate thinking everything is a symptom. I also had a dull headache first thing this morning. I never have that. Maybe a headache as a rough day goes by.

Maybe your temps & all are off bc of mc. Your opks could be false pos too. I know that can happen with clomid & for women with PCOS...so I am not really sure what affects that.

According to the insert in the box for the CB opk, supposedly clomid doesn't affect that one. But for all other OPKs, I've heard to just wait until three days after the last clomid pill to test. And this cycle, I wasn't even allowed to take the clomid anyway. So it wouldn't be affected by that. But it is possible for women to have an LH surge and still not release an egg, which is why I started temping several months ago, so that I could confirm. I think I might be back on track though... My temp went up again today. I also looked back at my pregnancy chart from last month, and I did have a very slow rise for 2 days after I O'd. I think I'm being too impatient. If my temp continues up tomorrow, I'll know for sure.

So how are you today? Are you testing again, or waiting it out? Either way, I'm pretty excited about your IUI cycle! Even if you're not successful this cycle, I'm feeling good about the next one, and I'm really excited to follow along with you.

 

[beaglemom]

I def remember that. You said you were out & then the next day BOOM! I am not giving up yet...but I didn't have high hopes to begin with. I am just getting so restless & hate thinking everything is a symptom. I also had a dull headache first thing this morning. I never have that. Maybe a headache as a rough day goes by.

Maybe your temps & all are off bc of mc. Your opks could be false pos too. I know that can happen with clomid & for women with PCOS...so I am not really sure what affects that.

According to the insert in the box for the CB opk, supposedly clomid doesn't affect that one. But for all other OPKs, I've heard to just wait until three days after the last clomid pill to test. And this cycle, I wasn't even allowed to take the clomid anyway. So it wouldn't be affected by that. But it is possible for women to have an LH surge and still not release an egg, which is why I started temping several months ago, so that I could confirm. I think I might be back on track though... My temp went up again today. I also looked back at my pregnancy chart from last month, and I did have a very slow rise for 2 days after I O'd. I think I'm being too impatient. If my temp continues up tomorrow, I'll know for sure.

So how are you today? Are you testing again, or waiting it out? Either way, I'm pretty excited about your IUI cycle! Even if you're not successful this cycle, I'm feeling good about the next one, and I'm really excited to follow along with you.

Ok, so today was follow up with the urologist. My husband just cannot catch a break. His testerone tests were one below & one slightly above normal. Plus putting him on a supplement may kill off the boys. I think being on day shift will help that plus I want us to get more active. As far as his analysis, another bleh in my opinion. So the count went from 12 to 29...good, right? Well his motility was low. And he had some heads that were not pointed instead they were more round. So I don't kow what to think there.

But I don't really care because he has some good boys in there & if motility is an issue, the IUI will take care of that.

The spotting is I think getting heavier...not sure...very faint when I wipe almost non existent. I have a panty liner now, so I can tell better later. I am a little annoyed with my dr office because I am trying to get my clomid before Friday so I will have it when I am out of town. I left a message with the pharmacy yesterday. Today I talked to the receptionist, but she put me through to the message line again...so I left another message. If I don't hear back by 5 today, I am going to the office tomorrow.

So all in all I still feel good. Of course I would love this to be my miracle cycle, but I have high hopes with the IUI in a couple of weeks if it comes to that. And of course VACATION is coming! I am an assistant so my people are totally freaking out now. They hate when I am on vacation...they can't function. I guess that's job security.

 

[haleiwamama]

Ok, so today was follow up with the urologist. My husband just cannot catch a break. His testerone tests were one below & one slightly above normal. Plus putting him on a supplement may kill off the boys. I think being on day shift will help that plus I want us to get more active. As far as his analysis, another bleh in my opinion. So the count went from 12 to 29...good, right? Well his motility was low. And he had some heads that were not pointed instead they were more round. So I don't kow what to think there.

But I don't really care because he has some good boys in there & if motility is an issue, the IUI will take care of that.

The spotting is I think getting heavier...not sure...very faint when I wipe almost non existent. I have a panty liner now, so I can tell better later. I am a little annoyed with my dr office because I am trying to get my clomid before Friday so I will have it when I am out of town. I left a message with the pharmacy yesterday. Today I talked to the receptionist, but she put me through to the message line again...so I left another message. If I don't hear back by 5 today, I am going to the office tomorrow.

So all in all I still feel good. Of course I would love this to be my miracle cycle, but I have high hopes with the IUI in a couple of weeks if it comes to that. And of course VACATION is coming! I am an assistant so my people are totally freaking out now. They hate when I am on vacation...they can't function. I guess that's job security.

Hi Beaglemom, that's a great improvement on count!! What kind of things are you guys doing to improve it? What is his morphology and motility?
Have fun on your vacation!!

 

[beaglemom]

Ok, so today was follow up with the urologist. My husband just cannot catch a break. His testerone tests were one below & one slightly above normal. Plus putting him on a supplement may kill off the boys. I think being on day shift will help that plus I want us to get more active. As far as his analysis, another bleh in my opinion. So the count went from 12 to 29...good, right? Well his motility was low. And he had some heads that were not pointed instead they were more round. So I don't kow what to think there.

But I don't really care because he has some good boys in there & if motility is an issue, the IUI will take care of that.

The spotting is I think getting heavier...not sure...very faint when I wipe almost non existent. I have a panty liner now, so I can tell better later. I am a little annoyed with my dr office because I am trying to get my clomid before Friday so I will have it when I am out of town. I left a message with the pharmacy yesterday. Today I talked to the receptionist, but she put me through to the message line again...so I left another message. If I don't hear back by 5 today, I am going to the office tomorrow.

So all in all I still feel good. Of course I would love this to be my miracle cycle, but I have high hopes with the IUI in a couple of weeks if it comes to that. And of course VACATION is coming! I am an assistant so my people are totally freaking out now. They hate when I am on vacation...they can't function. I guess that's job security.

Hi Beaglemom, that's a great improvement on count!! What kind of things are you guys doing to improve it? What is his morphology and motility?
Have fun on your vacation!!

I'll have to get back to you on the actual counts. My husband took the paper home. I am not sure if what we have done so far helped because today's sperm were made 3 months ago. The one thing I do know we changed that long ago would be the laptop in the lap. That was something he did constantly. So now he uses a pillow. But the other things we are currently doing are fertility blend from gnc, brazil nuts, and a combination of additional supplements that include (what I can remember) zinc, selenium, vit c, omega 3, vitamin e.

I guess that is the positive thing to look at. The count more than doubled which will help when they are washed...and motility isn't as much of an issue when doing iui.

 

[savvysaver]

beaglemom, I never thought about a laptop on the lap as not being good but that makes total sense. I think I am getting my hubby a pillow. Thanks for writing that here! At least you were able to get more information, I am sorry your DH's numbers aren't the best but hopefully the IUI will take care of that (if you aren't prego this month). A vacation is just what the two of you need, nice and relaxing and you can spend time together! A couple more weeks and hubby will be on day shift, that is great news for you.

Erin, a see your temp did rise a bit. Hoping you O'd. How do you know if you didn't O this cycle, would your temp never really rise up high?

AF is slowing down and I am about ready to start using opk's...hopefully start with them tomorrow.

Quiet here today...is that because we are all either waiting in the TWW or getting ready for opks?

 

[floridasian]

Hi beaglemom - stalking you! Hope everything's going well for you. I had my D&C yesterday and I can't wait to start the healing process and be able to ttc again!

 

[beaglemom]

Hi beaglemom - stalking you! Hope everything's going well for you. I had my D&C yesterday and I can't wait to start the healing process and be able to ttc again!

That's good news in the sense that now you can get things moving again. Sorry it took so long for that to happen...not sure how typical that is. I know you are taking a break, & I hope the break is good for you guys. You can at least have a couple of months to reflect & just relax. I remember you had some medical things surface right before the positive hpt. What is that status on that now? Sorry, I don't remember exactly what it was. I seem to remember them telling you the chances of getting pregnant were very slim & then WHAM-O you were pregnant.

I am doing well, I just posted earlier about my husband 2nd SA analysis. I am still crossing my fingers for this cycle. It is a natural cycle after 3 months on clomid. The bad news is I O'd early so I was caught off guard & only got 1 baby making session in so I don't have high hopes. A normal cycle for me is about 28 days...but on clomid it went to 30-32 days. Now 1st month off I don't know what to expect...plus the early O. I tested yesterday at 13 dpo with a neg. The usual brown spotting hasn't completely hit yet, so we will see.

If no prego, then the first part of Feb will be the IUI! I am so excited for that! So I am going on clomid again next cycle to get my eggs ready. I have high hopes for the IUI because my dr has yet to find any issues with me...so we are hoping we are just dealing with low count.

But one thing I didn't think about is my husband's SA on the last part of December was that 29 million up from 12 million...& a couple days later was when we had sex. So I guess I have a shot with the higher sperm count. We will see.

 

[floridasian]

Yeah..I had uterine scarring. My RE said chances of getting pregnant was slim and even if I did get pregnant miscarriage rate would be high. At my 7.5 weeks ultrasound it showed that the sac was bent/folder over the scarring, although my RE wasn't sure what caused the miscarriage since most early losses are chromosomal and not anatomical.

I didn't get a chance to speak to him after my surgery but I did speak to another doctor who also performed on me yesterday and it looked like they were able to remove the scarring during the D&C (it was an ultrasound-assisted D&C compared to most procedures that are blind D&C). He's put me on estrogen to rebuild the lining. I'm also drinking raspberry leaf tea (not sure if vitex's safe to take at this point so I'm staying away from fertilitea for now) and pomegranate juice to help for general uterine health. I go back in three weeks for a follow up. I'm hoping I'll get the OK from him to start ttc again at that point.

Good luck to you this cycle. If not, you sound like the perfect candidate for IUI. Everything's fine with you so hopefully they'll be able to separate and pick out the best sperm and get you the BFP you've been waiting for!

 

[beaglemom]

Yeah..I had uterine scarring. My RE said chances of getting pregnant was slim and even if I did get pregnant miscarriage rate would be high. At my 7.5 weeks ultrasound it showed that the sac was bent/folder over the scarring, although my RE wasn't sure what caused the miscarriage since most early losses are chromosomal and not anatomical.

I didn't get a chance to speak to him after my surgery but I did speak to another doctor who also performed on me yesterday and it looked like they were able to remove the scarring during the D&C (it was an ultrasound-assisted D&C compared to most procedures that are blind D&C). He's put me on estrogen to rebuild the lining. I'm also drinking raspberry leaf tea (not sure if vitex's safe to take at this point so I'm staying away from fertilitea for now) and pomegranate juice to help for general uterine health. I go back in three weeks for a follow up. I'm hoping I'll get the OK from him to start ttc again at that point.

Good luck to you this cycle. If not, you sound like the perfect candidate for IUI. Everything's fine with you so hopefully they'll be able to separate and pick out the best sperm and get you the BFP you've been waiting for!

Thanks...I am glad they were able to take care of the other during your D & C. I think things are looking great for you too. 2014 is def going to be a good year for all of us.

 

[JayhawkLvr]

beaglemom, I never thought about a laptop on the lap as not being good but that makes total sense. I think I am getting my hubby a pillow. Thanks for writing that here! At least you were able to get more information, I am sorry your DH's numbers aren't the best but hopefully the IUI will take care of that (if you aren't prego this month). A vacation is just what the two of you need, nice and relaxing and you can spend time together! A couple more weeks and hubby will be on day shift, that is great news for you.

Erin, a see your temp did rise a bit. Hoping you O'd. How do you know if you didn't O this cycle, would your temp never really rise up high?

AF is slowing down and I am about ready to start using opk's...hopefully start with them tomorrow.

Quiet here today...is that because we are all either waiting in the TWW or getting ready for opks?

I'm (impatiently) waiting for that second dark line on my opk's. Technically we were supposed to bd yesterday, but we were both exhausted, and since I haven't had even close to a positive opk, we just went to bed lol. Last Clomid cycle I O'ed on CD19, and I'm only on CD15, so I'm not TOO discouraged yet. Hope everyone else is having more luck with patience!! I guess we'll all be experts at it when we do become parents

 

[savvysaver]

I'm (impatiently) waiting for that second dark line on my opk's. Technically we were supposed to bd yesterday, but we were both exhausted, and since I haven't had even close to a positive opk, we just went to bed lol. Last Clomid cycle I O'ed on CD19, and I'm only on CD15, so I'm not TOO discouraged yet. Hope everyone else is having more luck with patience!! I guess we'll all be experts at it when we do become parents

Waiting for that positive opk might be worse than the TWW. You are probably better off skip yesterday for more sleep, now you can focus on the rest of the week and hopefully get a positive opk soon.
Here I am on CD5 and I am ready for it to be the end of January already! I am starting the opk's tomorrow since my new doctor told me to focus on CD7-12 since that is probably when I would O...my cycles were 24-26 days.

 

[ERosePW]

Erin, a see your temp did rise a bit. Hoping you O'd. How do you know if you didn't O this cycle, would your temp never really rise up high?

AF is slowing down and I am about ready to start using opk's...hopefully start with them tomorrow.

Savvy, yep, if there's no pattern of higher temps, then it would probably mean that I didn't O at all. After an egg is released, that same follicle produces progesterone, which in turn causes a slight rise in temp. So that temp rise happens the day ofer O, and it stays that way until either AF arrives or I get a bfp. If AF, then the temp drops usually the day before or the day of (so you'll know it's coming). If it's a bfp, then the progesterone has to keep producing, so temps stay up through the rest of the pregnancy. It's actually pretty fascinating. Oh btw, you mentioned the beeping! I know, lol! If DH is still sleeping, I actually get up and go into the bathroom. I suppose it could affect the individual temp a bit, but for me it doesn't affect it enough to take away from a pattern.

I'm feeling confident my temp will continue up, and FF will give me my CHs in a couple days. I'm glad AF is slowing down for you. Sounds like it was a bad one. Hope you're feeling lots better!!!

 

[savvysaver]

Savvy, yep, if there's no pattern of higher temps, then it would probably mean that I didn't O at all. After an egg is released, that same follicle produces progesterone, which in turn causes a slight rise in temp. So that temp rise happens the day ofer O, and it stays that way until either AF arrives or I get a bfp. If AF, then the temp drops usually the day before or the day of (so you'll know it's coming). If it's a bfp, then the progesterone has to keep producing, so temps stay up through the rest of the pregnancy. It's actually pretty fascinating. Oh btw, you mentioned the beeping! I know, lol! If DH is still sleeping, I actually get up and go into the bathroom. I suppose it could affect the individual temp a bit, but for me it doesn't affect it enough to take away from a pattern.

I'm feeling confident my temp will continue up, and FF will give me my CHs in a couple days. I'm glad AF is slowing down for you. Sounds like it was a bad one. Hope you're feeling lots better!!!

ERose, thanks for such a detailed explanation! Here I was thinking I was temping mainly to see when I O'd, I never realized how valuable the information really could be! Unfortunately my chart might not be 100% accurate - My temps are either at 3am or 6am, sometimes at 3am I can't fall asleep again or need to drink water - I am trying my best though! DH told me he didn't care if it beeped at 3am, he could fall back to sleep if he heard it. Luckily he gets up at 6 so I don't have to worry about waking him, except on the weekends when he can sleep in. I only take temp at 3 because I wake up to use the bathroom and in the directions it said you had to be sleeping for 4+ hours for it to be accurate. Chart seems boring now, can't wait for it to get exciting around O time!

Hoping you can get your CHs soon and confirm your O day.

 

[beaglemom]

Another negative this morning. I picked up my clomid yesterday. I am so excited for my next cycle to start. Now I will have a tww until ovulation to do the iui & another tww for testing. Just rough estimating, I may be testing around V-Day!

 

[ERosePW]

Well sorry for the bfn this morning beaglemom. But you could very easily be getting a super sweet valentines surprise. I know I've said it a thousand times, but I think I'm almost as excited as you about the IUI, ha! I get really excited when people start IUI since it has such a high success rate, and from what you've said about your DH's SAs, I just can't help but feel like that's all you guys are gonna need! And you SO deserve it after all this time!

Savvy, I know, the charts are kinda boring at the beginning, lol. I can't wait to see your temp spike after you O though. That's always exciting!

Afm, I'm feeling good this morning, as my temp continued upward today, and FF gave me my CHs. Looks like I did O on the day I originally thought, so I'm 4dpo today. I'd feel better if DH had been in town, because I'm used to us BDing a lot more around O time. But that's ok. At least I know I had a good O, and he made it home early that day. That's something.

Beaglemom, I'm guessing you're probably going to start a new thread for IUI soon, I bet...? If you decide in a couple days that you're done with this one and you're moving on to your next cycle, let me know, and I could probably also start another one that's not specific to anything, but more just a thread for us girls to hang out and chat. I really want to keep up with you during your IUI journey.